Today, the story of a woman in her mid-80s is the oldest person to obtain a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech.
Kay Castagnoli is someone who has a passion and love for learning. The 85-year-old grandmother of nine recently walked across the stage to accept her bachelor’s degree in music from Virginia Tech.
The recent college graduate mentioned it was her love of learning and playing the piano in her younger years that made her decide to pursue the degree.
Kay said, “I said I always wanted to go back into the music, which I have been out of for some time. So, I got into the music department, and it was very nice.”
She added that while her mother couldn’t sing very well, her passion and love for music motivated Kay in her studies.
She said, “The one class I thought I was always going to fail was we had to sing,” “We had to get a piece of music printed in front of us and read it off vocally. I thought I would never pass this test.”
But thanks to hard work, dedication and encouragement from her husband, Kay did succeed and graduated earlier this month.
Of her husband Kay told WSLS, “He keeps me going. I say, ‘I can’t do this,’ and he says ‘Of course, you can do this.”‘
Next up for the recent recipient of a degree in music — Kay has plans to enroll in more classes and work toward a minor in Italian.